Alone in the Park - it's the Prem 2020-21 thread

That's exactly what it's about.

The transfer market is an interesting thing and i've always thought that could potentially be another flashpoint. It's not 100% clear to me that the current system would stand up to legal scrutiny if there was a concerted push to abolish it from the big clubs. Every time the idea of removing transfer fees has come up, post-Bosman, there has been a negotiated compromise to maintain it.

Barcelona - Over €600m in debt
Inter Milan - Over €600m in debt
Real Madrid - Over €900m in debt
AC Milan - Over €250m in debt
Man Utd - Over £400m in debt

this bunch of debauched gambling addicts need an intervention!

Chelsea’s must be getting on for £1.6bn by now.

but would Abromovich call that debt in when he get's bored? Our previous "saviour" chairman jumped ship after one season in the prem and took every fucking penny back he'd put in during the last decade.

I doubt it as there's nobody to actually pay it. The ideas being floated about banning foreign ownership or forcing clubs to sell a 51% stake to fans, etc, would presumably run aground on the debt issue, though. Force Abramovich to sell to a UK owner and they'd end up owing him a completely unsustainable amount of money in perpetuity. Force the Glazers to sell Manchester United and you'd end up paying both for the club and for the debt they used to buy the club, etc.

Uneasy about debt as a straight figure being a hard measure

We all know that FFP hasnt exactly prevented eg oligarch or oil owners ensuring their clubs meet the required ratio and for all ive no time for levy our debt is a lot more like normal sustainable debt on long term infrastructure owned by the club vs the sugar rush of inflated squad assets hoarded like we see chelsea, city do

"Force Abramovich to sell to a UK owner and they'd end up owing him a completely unsustainable amount of money in perpetuity. Force the Glazers to sell Manchester United and you'd end up paying both for the club and for the debt they used to buy the club, etc."

These problems would go away in a communist state.

Chelsea seem a natural fit for secret police team, yes

Nationalisation and randomly assigning clubs to state assets, so you end up with Lokomotiv Liverpool run by British Rail and CSKA Arsenal, controlled by the MoD, would be the most logical solution tbh.

and Tottenham returned to the Percy family

Torpedo Barrow

Rumours abound that one or both of chelsea/city will flee and hang the others

Fair genius move if so

Babyface turn by the oil bastards, like it

https://comicvine1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/original/7/72648/1369650-baby_face.jpg

"BiB"

"Gold"

Hate to say it of such a fondly remembered character, but that is some Ben Garrison shit right there

Patrick Bamford is good now

Amazon out

Amazon Prime Video statement on the proposed Super League: pic.twitter.com/FCHc94yDns

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 20, 2021

Thats levy fucked

Have a bevy for old Levy cos old Levy will cry

Jose has his slice of the pie
Dele alli foad

Worded openly enough to avoid committing to not showing it.

If this thing ever gets off the ground you can be sure most of the people criticizing it now will eventually be falling over backwards to get involved in it.

The criticisms of it, bar the constant membership, dont stack up if you were cheering anything that has happened in football the past few decades is the thing

And spurs getting in obv

So, according to the Deloitte Football Money League, Wolves are richer than Milan. As are Sheffield United, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Everton.

Its a careful blend of historical success, wealth, heritage and spurs

tbf Wolves are richer than Milan precisely because of what 'has happened in football in the past few decades'.

Yep.

Separately, No 10 confirmed that ministers would consider cutting off support for breakaway clubs in areas such as work visas for overseas players and the policing of matches as a way to exert pressure.

The government seems to be realising that there isn't much they can do to stop this so they're looking at the remaining levers they could potentially pull. I don't think the visa one is remotely viable but policing would potentially be at their discretion.

Telling communities 'lol, we're not going to provide any police on match days because your local club has joined the super league' would be...interesting.

I mean it would make it easier for the clubs to just say ‘sorry legacy fans but it’s not actually safe for you if we play at home so our matches will now sadly have to be in Dubai’ which would be one less job for them to have to think about

At least we've finally found out why they call them super spurs

I mean, fuck the superleague and all, but I'm getting really creeped out by the government's attitude here towards something they don't approve of in the cultural realm - it's not illegal but we'll make it so somehow, dammit. It aint going to be an approach limited to football breakaways either

The Red Wall expects nothing less.

"Don't think much of this uncompromising theatrical indictment of racism in modern britain... maybe lean on the local authority to shut down the theatre lol, use some health and safety shit"

I thought Holloway talking about how they are disrespecting the memory of dead Prince Philip was going to be the best super league take from a manager, but there’s something so perfect about Brendan claiming that it’s actually all his fault:

“[Leicester’s success] has probably played a part in these developments. Our job was to disrupt the market. I always said ‘what defines the top six?’ Clearly it was money and I tried to disrupt that on the pitch.”

Tbf Brendan's Leicester winning the Prem was a seismic shift

wait did he even reference leicester winning the league a couple of years before he arrived?

xp
lol

The No Leicesters Club

Never underestimate the ego of Brendan Rodgers.

Leicester not being a one-season wonder is almost as great an achievement tbf

Chelsea pulling out apparently. Being the first to flee this ship probs a wise move.

Lol

BREAKING
I understand Chelsea are now preparing documentation to request withdrawing from the ESL

— Dan Roan (@danroan) April 20, 2021

Hope they boot them out of the champions league all the same

pic.twitter.com/W1UTC5pdqE

— Luke Shaw (@LukeShaw23) April 20, 2021

Shaw famously a Chelsea fan as a kid too haha

LOL @ Chelsea having more integrity than Liverpool.

Man City following now

Manchester City have withdrawn from the European Super League.

Chelsea are also preparing documentation to request withdrawing from the European Super League.

More to follow ⤵#bbcfootball

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 20, 2021

Atleti apparently out too.

Move to proposed a european 5D chess superleague for these absolute morons

iceberg coming early